Puerto Rican Obituary

Pedro Pietri

Founder of Nuyorican Poet's Cafe

Puerto Rican Obituary, 1973

excerpt video...full poem bellow 

This poem portrays the living reality of many Puerto Rican's when they came to New York searching the "American Dream". Forty years later the USA still deals with many of the issues Pietri brought to light. In The Green-Collar Economy Van Jones stated, "we have added eighty hours to our work year over the last twenty-five years". Americans are working harder and longer than ever and only for a fraction of the gains. "Today more than 34 percent of the country's wealth is held by the richest 1 percent of the people". Also, 15 million American households live with an income below half considered poverty line; in other words, extreme poverty. This only ratifies that we have an unsustainable socioeconomic model that perpetuates social injustices. 

Read Pedro Pietri's poem and see for yourself. Remember the poem was written in 1973 and  progress has been made regarding workers' rights. Nevertheless keep in mind those who the laws don't protect. 

PUERTO RICAN OBITUARY

They worked

They were always on time

They were never late

They never spoke back

when they were insulted

They worked

They never took days off

that were not on the calendar

They never went on strike

without permission

They worked

ten days a week

and were only paid for five

They worked

They worked

They worked

and they died

They died broke

They died owing

They died never knowing

what the front entrance

of the first national city bank looks like

Juan

Miguel

Milagros

Olga

Manuel

All died yesterday today

and will die again tomorrow

passing their bill collectors

on to the next of kin

All died

waiting for the garden of eden

to open up again

under a new management

All died

dreaming about america

waking them up in the middle of the night

screaming: Mira Mira

your name is on the winning lottery ticket

for one hundred thousand dollars

All died

hating the grocery stores

that sold them make-believe steak

and bullet-proof rice and beans

All died waiting dreaming and hating

Dead Puerto Ricans

Who never knew they were Puerto Ricans

Who never took a coffee break

from the ten commandments

to KILL KILL KILL

the landlords of their cracked skulls

and communicate with their latino souls

Juan

Miguel

Milagros

Olga

Manuel

From the nervous breakdown streets

where the mice live like millionaires

and the people do not live at all

are dead and were never alive

Juan

died waiting for his number to hit

Miguel

died waiting for the welfare check

to come and go and come again

Milagros

died waiting for her ten children

to grow up and work

so she could quit working

Olga

died waiting for a five dollar raise

Manuel

died waiting for his supervisor to drop dead

so he could get a promotion

Is a long ride

from Spanish Harlem

to long island cemetery

where they were buried

First the train

and then the bus

and the cold cuts for lunch

and the flowers

that will be stolen

when visiting hours are over

Is very expensive

Is very expensive

But they understand

Their parents understood

Is a long non-profit ride

from Spanish Harlem

to long~sland cemetery

Juan

Miguel

Milagros

Olga

Manuel

All died yesterday today

and will die again tomorrow

Dreaming

Dreaming about queens

Clean-cut lily-white neighborhood

Puerto Ricanless scene

Thirty-thousand-dollar home

The first spics on the block

Proud to belong to a community

of gringos who want them lynched

Proud to be a long distance away

from the sacred phrase: Que Pasa

These dreams 

These empty dreams

from the make-believe bedrooms

their parents left them

are the after-effects

of television programs

about the ideal

white american family

with black maids

and latino janitors

who are well train

to make everyone

and their bill collectors

laugh at them

and the people they represent

Juan

died dreaming about a new car

Miguel

died dreaming about new anti-poverty programs

Milagros

died dreaming about a trip to Puerto Rico

Olga

died dreaming about real jewelry

Manuel

died dreaming about the irish sweepstakes

They all died

like a hero sandwich dies

in the garment district

at twelve o'clock in the afternoon

social security number to ashes

union dues to dust

They knew

they were born to weep

and keep the morticians employed

as long as they pledge allegiance

to the flag that wants them destroyed

They saw their names listed

in the telephone directory of destruction

They were train to turn

the other cheek by newspapers

that mispelled mispronounced

and misunderstood their names

and celebrated when death came

and stole their final laundry ticket

They were born dead

and they died dead

Is time

to visit sister lopez again

the number one healer

and fortune card dealer

in Spanish Harlem

She can communicate

with your late relatives

for a reasonable fee

Good news is guaranteed

Rise Table Rise Table

death is not dumb and disable

Those who love you want to know

the correct number to play

Let them know this right away

Rise Table Rise Table

death is not dumb and disable

Now that your problems are over

and the world is off your shoulders

help those who you left behind

find financial peace of mind

Rise Table Rise Table

death is not dumb and disable

If the right number we hit

all our problems will split

and we will visit your grave

on every legal holiday

Those who love you want to know

the correct number to play

Let them know this right away

We know your spirit is able

Death is not dumb and disable

RISE TABLE RISE TABLE

Juan

Miguel

Milagros

Olga

Manuel

All died yesterday today

and will die again tomorrow

Hating fighting and stealing

broken windows from each other

Practicing a religion without a roof

The old testament

The new testament

according to the gospel

of the internal revenue

the judge and jury and executioner

protector and eternal bill collector

Secondhand shit for sale

Learn how to say Como Esta Usted

and you will make a fortune

They are dead

They are dead

and will not return from the dead

until they stop neglecting

the art of their dialogue

for broken english lessons

to impress the mister goldsteins

who keep them employed

as lavaplatos porters messenger boys

factory workers maids stock clerks

shipping clerks assistant mailroom

assistant, assisant assistant

to the assistant's assistant

assistant lavaplatos and automatic

artificial smiling doormen

for the lowest wages of the ages

and rages when you demand a raise

because is against the company policy

to promote SPICS SPICS SPICS

Juan

died hating Miguel because Miguel's

used car was in better running condition

than his used car

Miguel

died hating Milagros because Milagros

had a color television set

and he could not afford one yet

Milagros

died hating Olga because Olga

made five dollars more on the same job

Olga

died hating Manuel because Manuel

had hit the numbers more times

than she had hit the numbers

Manuel

died hating all of them

Juan

Miguel

Milagros

and Olga

because they all spoke broken english

more fluently than he did

And now they are together

in the main lobby of the void

Addicted to silence

Off limits to the wind

Confine to worm supremacy

in long island cemetery

This is the groovy hereafter

the protestant collection box

was talking so loud and proud about

Here lies Juan

Here lies Miguel

Here lies Milagros

Here lies Olga

Here lies Manuel

who died yesterday today

and will die again tomorrow

Always broke

Always owing

Never knowing

that they are beautiful people

Never knowing

the geography of their complexion

PUERTO RICO IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE

PUERTORRIQUENOS ARE A BEAUTIFUL RACE

If only they

had turned off the television

and tune into their own imaginations

If only they

had used the white supremacy bibles

for toilet paper purpose

and make their latino souls

the only religion of their race

If only they

had return to the definition of the sun

after the first mental snowstorm

on the summer of their senses

If only they

had kept their eyes open

at the funeral of their fellow employees

who came to this country to make a fortune

and were buried without underwears

Juan

Miguel

Milagros

Olga

Manuel

will right now be doing their own thing

where beautiful people sing

and dance and work together

where the wind is a stranger

to miserable weather conditions

where you do not need a dictionary

to communicate with your people

Aqui Se Habla Espanol all the time

Aqui you salute your flag first

Aqui there are no dial soap commericals

Aqui everybody smells good

Aqui tv dinners do not have a future

Aqui the men and women admire desire

and never get tired of each other

Aqui Que Paso Power is what's happening

Aqui to be called negrito

means to be called LOVE

Wangari Maathai

"Wangari Maathai planted trees, but she harvested democracy and that democracy is connected to justice" - Dianne Dillon Ridgely, 2013

Wangari Maathai has taught us to be leaders in social change and social justice. Her courage taught me I have the power to create a new reality, a new country, a new world. Her endless efforts planted the seeds of democracy in Kenya; and her work through the Green Belt Movement changed the course of many women doomed to poverty and misery to a future of security and self-sufficiency. She's a true inspirational leader who achieved her life work to continue even after her death. Winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize showed us to take care of ourselves by taking care of environment. 

Social and Justice = Social Justice

Fred L. Pincus stated, "Discrimination Comes in Many Forms: Individual, Institutional and Structural". The distinction among the three lays the constitution of our core values as human beings, groups in a society and society as a whole. So, there's a structure within our society. To attend the issue of discrimination we have to understand the levels at which it is taking place to solve it. The same principle applies to justice. Justice can only be a living reality if it encompasses these three levels. 

But, what is justice? Is it the same as law? Is our law system "just"? Unfortunately, the governments and entities of power have separated justice from law. Hence, it is our responsibility as citizens and as human beings to ALWAYS AND ABOVE EVERYTHING respect and protect justice when in conflict with the rule of law. This way, we will be able to align the rule of law with the higher moral values law should protect. 

When we have a system that unifies those highest moral values with law and it's existent in all three levels of society, we will truly have social justice. 

Bike O'Rama 3 weeks and no car!

 WEEK 1 - In my experience bike riding has been great! For the first time, I've had the need to use my bike to transport myself on a regular basis. In this first week I've felt a big difference in my day when I bike ride. That five minute bike ride from my home to school in the morning make me feel more awake and alert during the day. When I got to class I was so alert that I retained more more information and I could enjoy more my class. The same thing happened in the afternoons. Before I would walk to my room right after class and felt so tired that I didn't have the energy to focus in my school work. But bike riding back to my house after class I will still feel so energetic that I'm ready to start my school work or other afternoon activities without feeling tired. Overall the experience has been amazing!

WEEK 2 - I bike ride everywhere. Moving around Fairfield is easy and accessible because it's such a small town. Nevertheless, now that it started raining I got soaking wet several times. As well, I needed to go grocery shopping. I couldn't buy many things because I didn't have the space to carry them. The good thing about it was that it helped me control myself when I did my grocery shopping. I love buying many things that later I don't end up consuming. So, it pushed me to take only the things I really needed. Also, I moved to an unfurnished new house. Going to different places and getting the new furniture has been hard without a car. I've had to ask my friends for it because there was no way I could do it on my bike. I've realized that as great as it it to ride your bike, there's some things you need a car for. You can be efficient and use your bike on a daily basis, but sometimes when you have big loads of things to transport, cars are the only solution. That has really made me think if we can possibly be completely car-free.

This is the first time I've been without a car for so long. I always managed to get a ride with a friend. The experience overall has been great. In spite the general difficulties I've had along the way, I will keep riding my bike as much as I can. 

WEEK 3 (free writing my overall experience)- does matter to be completely car free in a personal scale. The first thing you want to do when you are being efficient is to reduce your consumption levels. Yes, this can mean a great difference if large amount of people would consider it. Throughout the assignment I came across several experiences that made me wonder if it really mattered if I was car-free for three weeks. if so, how was I making the world a better place? All of this were valid questions that the assignment pushed me to reflect on. This idea grew bigger in my head when I heard Thom Linzey. Am I running in the same loop created by the hierarchy to make us believe we have power and the freedom to choose? And suddenly I got my answer. We need both. We need to change the system, but I also need to do whatever I can daily to reduce my carbon footprint. It may not be a significant contribution to the world, but it was to myself. I felt differently the mornings I rode my bike than the one day I decided to take a ride. Overall, I felt more vibrant, more energized and I was more aware of my surroundings. Nom Nom Nom....I don't know what else to say. Oh! I remembered. Another thing that I realized doing this assignment is that we cannot be completely car free. So, we need to make them for efficient. We have no other choice. Making them more efficient may increase the dependency on them, but there's no way we can be completely car free with the current infrastructure model we have today or even if we redesign our cities. There's things we cannot do when we don't have a car; transport big loads of things or travel long distances. If we don't want people to become more dependent on their cars once we make them more efficient, we need to start creating a car-free culture. This way we can be car-free on our day to day activities, but use it only when it's truly necessary and needed.

The Electric Power Industry

The electrical power industry was created and developed to be one of the most powerful industries in the world. Throughout time the industry has created a power paradigm of utilities, monopoly and franchise, central power stations and transmission lines. Nevertheless Bill Mollison offers alternative energy solutions that include producing and supplying power to our communities. 

Hence this brings up the question, do we really need big central power plants and transmission lines? Are these completely indispensable in order to have electricity? The truth is "there are many energy alternatives", as Bill Mollison says.

There's a small mediaeval german town I've visited a several times called Mainz. Mainz don't have any visible transmission lines in the entire city. When they reconstructed it after WWII, they put all the transmission lines underground. Now, the power never goes out in spite of weather conditions. Also, doing a little bit of research of the town, I found that instead of having big central power plants, they are utilizing the design of their buildings to put solar panels and generate the needed energy. One incredible building they inaugurated in 2011 was a soccer field/stadium. Isn't cool?

Jean Pain: France's King of Green Gold

THOMAS LINZEY

Today I met personally Thomas Linzey. What an INSPIRATIONAL human being! If you don't know who he is GOOGLE HIM!

Summary of main talking points!

U.S.

-       570 billion lb of meaningful waste each year

-       4 billion of it are toxic waste

-       2 Trillion lb of livestock waste

-       11 million people live within a one mile of a superfund sites

-       80,000 synthetic chemical produced at a rate of 1,800 per year

-       Each person has 700 synthetic chemicals in their bodies

-       90% of all forest in the US has been logged.

-       70% of all biodiversity in the world has been extinguished 

The United Nations has said this is a “planetary catastrophe” 

Things are worst 40 years after laws and regulations like the “Clean water act” has been made 

The purpose is to legalize the harm that was once illegal. That’s what they give PERMITS. 

Fracking – a way to extract natural gas. Takes large amount of water, alters climate, releases toxics

-       It is causing earthquakes in Ohio. 

State Law in Colorado

OIL & GAS ACT – regulatory system to do fracking of oil and gas. 

Regulatory System 

1. Community gets together

-       Causes earthquakes

-       Water use

-       Contaminates aquifers

-       Privatizes

2. Call state agency

3. Permit application 

“Regulated” – Regulate something that is already coming in and it’s going to continue to come in. 

4. Get a lawyer

Need a lawyer in order to continue with the process. Need legal representation.

They are extremely expensive. Many towns don’t have the resources to pay them. 

5. Lawyers verify that the administrative is complete 

The way the system is created is to be owned by the government and the corporations. They call it democracy, because we “participate”. But the way the system is created is to subordinate us. Environmental law today is making better permit application.

The structure is to make the illegal, legal! 

Nutrient Management Act – Create a plan that explains how will you manage manure, waste, etc. 

State can preempt the local 

Corporation’s Constitution - Corporations has constitutional rights like the ones the individual entities have in the constitution. 

Anti-Corporate Farming Laws

            Local Ordinances

Putting a different law system that gives the power to the local level 

We use the drain waste; we separate it from the solid and use the liquids for agriculture and grow food.

Corporation has personalized rights (the amendments apply to them, 1^st, 5^th, ect) that give them the power to sue the communities. 

Doctrines that enable corporation

Preemption

Corporation’s constitutional rights

Non-research commerce clause

Dillon’s Rule – State determines the rights the communities have. 

The underlying problem is our law system. We have to remove these doctrines. 

RIGHTS OF NATURE

            In our system of laws nature doesn’t have rights. They are properties. Properties by law can be destroyed.

Ecosystems must have rights bare. 

State Constitutional Change – Driving the states to make change to liberate communities from the power of corporations. 

Sustainability constitution – How does it look?